


The Way Back Home

by EspejoNight28738



Category: No. 6 (Anime & Manga), No. 6 - All Media Types, No. 6 - Asano Atsuko
Genre: Beyond (No. 6), Birthday, Canon Compliant, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gentle Kissing, Light Angst, M/M, Nostalgia, Post-Canon, Reunion Fic, Reunions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-07
Updated: 2020-09-07
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:33:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,080
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26343427
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EspejoNight28738/pseuds/EspejoNight28738
Summary: Nezumi promised to come back, Shion promised to wait.They were young, and they had gone through so much, but that didn’t make those promises any less true.They just needed time, and they would eventually find their way back to each other.The way back home.
Relationships: Nezumi/Shion (No. 6)
Comments: 9
Kudos: 62





	The Way Back Home

Shion never truly shook off most of the habits he acquired while living on the West Block. Sometimes he would remind himself that it was only a little less than six months that he lived there. He was almost nineteen years; six months should feel like a small frame of time. 

And yet, he sometimes felt like those were the only real months of his life. Everything before them felt like a distant dream, and everything after seemed dull in comparison. 

His mother, always very perceptive, once asked him why he never referred to their house as home anymore. He tried to put it into words, he really tried, but how can you explain that home for Shion was a small basement with more books one person could read in ten years, and a bed hardly big enough for two teenagers even though they were fairly thin, as everyone was in a place where one meal a day was never taken for granted. 

Shion never truly shook off most of the habits he acquired while living on the West Block.   
He felt disgusted when he saw someone wasting food, thinking in all the nights he went to sleep hungry, or all the kids that died in the streets of starvation.   
He would be cautious when opening the door, always making sure to have an object heavy enough to turn into a weapon if necessary...   
...he only used one side of the bed while asleep. It wasn’t a conscious decision or anything, he was just used to sharing a bed now. Even if three years had passed, he still felt like someone should be laying by his side. 

Nights were usually when he felt the loneliest. 

But how could he explain to his mother that those were the days he thought of when he was afraid of losing himself? That in those sacred nights when nightmares didn’t make an act of presence and he woke up with a smile on his face, he dreamt of that? 

To be able to see his mother daily again was a blessing, he did miss her a lot in those months, but he once said that even if he wanted to see his mother again, he didn’t want to go back to No.6. That was still true.   
His mother was the kindest human in his opinion, but even her empathy wasn’t enough to understand some things. There are things he never told her about, it was just better that way. She didn’t need to know that he still saw the bodies falling one after another during the Hunt every time he closed his eyes, or the fact that he had taken a man’s life without as much as a second thought, or how he thought about taking his own life after. 

_It was him or Nezumi._

And of course, that was the pivotal point of everything else. Home was Nezumi, happiness were his days with Nezumi, warmth was the feeling of Nezumi falling asleep next to him. 

_Nezumi_ _,_ _Nezumi_ _,_ _Nezumi_ _..._   
_Where are you now,_ _Nezumi_ _?_

He sometimes spoke of him, but mostly he wouldn’t. Weeks would pass without him saying that name out loud, but there wasn’t a day he wouldn’t think of him.   
In the beginning he would try to talk about him, but that made him feel even more alone. 

His mother barely knew him, just a few days before he went away. Inukashi, for all that Shion was sure they cared for Nezumi, in that same sharp and distant way Nezumi cared for them, truly didn’t miss him. Inukashi didn’t care if Nezumi came back or not, and if they had even once truly wished for his return, it was only on Shion’s behalf. 

Inukashi may not understand the truly extend of their relationship, but they saw enough to know Shion wouldn’t stop waiting, that he wouldn’t stop feeling like he was missing something essential. 

Still, he rarely indulged Shion’s thirst of talking about Nezumi. 

Rikuga was the worst of all. He really cared for Shion, but he also was convinced Shion was better off without Nezumi. He would sometimes speak so ill of Nezumi that even Inukashi felt the obligation to shut him up out of respect to Shion. 

The only three people that also knew Nezumi, and they all had such distant ideas of him from what Nezumi truly was. Shion wouldn’t be as pretentious as to think he knew all about Nezumi, no one did. But he saw Nezumi being cold and cruel to the world, he saw the hatred in his heart, he heard him make the remarks that hurt the most, and he saw Nezumi cry at the idea of him dying, he remembered being led in a dance without music, and he still felt the ghost touch of gentle lips on his. 

Rikuga thinks of Nezumi as the devil, and poor Shion having some sort of Stockholm Syndrome. Inukashi thought of Nezumi as mostly unpleasant and cold, and of Shion as being too naïve for letting himself get attached to someone as him. Karan thought of Nezumi as some sort of superhero that rescued her son and brought him back to her. 

None of them understood. 

During the first year and a half, Shion would sometimes talk to Tsukiyo, the mouse being the only one who missed Nezumi as much as him. After Tuskiyo died, without ever being reunited to his master or his brothers Hamlet and Cravat, Shion just stopped talking about him. He wondered if Nezumi had felt it the way Shion had just woken up one day knowing Hamlet was no more and experienced the same about Cravat some time at dinner a week after. 

Some wishful part of him wanted to believe Nezumi would come back to him after that, but when the months continued to pass, he accepted he was still too optimist of a dreamer. 

After his mother called him out on it, he tried to smile more, but he knew he wasn’t convincing, even if Karan never commented on it. Nezumi did tell him he was an awful actor. He tried to smile more, but every smile felt empty. 

_Nezumi_ _, the world means nothing to me without you. Nothing._

It was still true. 

_I’m still waiting for you_ _Nezumi_ _, I will wait forever_ _if that’s_ _what it takes._

He really meant it, he was ready to wait all his life, but a not-so-small part of him also cried: 

_I can wait forever, but please don’_ _t make me do it._

* * *

The day she got her son back, it was probably the happiest day in Karan’s life. He was really changed, his white hair and violet eyes the most obvious differences, but she immediately knew it wasn’t the only thing. She noted the small differences: how Shion was always a little bit tense, and how loud noises paralyzed him, but the day Nezumi left was the day she came face to face with the person her son was now. 

His carefree smiles he would give to anyone who crossed his path were gone. Most of his smiles were gone, in general. She would go weeks without seeing more than the commissures of his lips going slightly up when he saw her in the morning or when he came home after work. In the beginning, she was sure it was the trauma of life in the West Block, but Rikiga and Inukashi got her out of her mistake, always talking about how Shion probably smiled to the guy that mugged him once, and Shion didn’t deny it. 

_“Shion, have you noticed? You don’t smile or laugh a lot anymore."_ She had told him, and it was obvious that he tried to do it more often after that, but it was also obvious that none of those smiles were authentic. 

He seldom slept peacefully nowadays. He was quiet, always acting afraid of someone hearing him, but Karan sometimes heard anyways: Shion crying in his sleep. Sometimes he would mumble intelligible words, once Karan was sure to heard Safu’s name, but mostly he just called for Nezumi. 

Nezumi. She would lie if she said she didn’t have conflicted feelings for the boy these days. On one hand, he was the one that took care of Shion, and for that she would forever be grateful. He even went the extra mile to tell her son was safe. That spoke of his kindness and compassion. 

Yet, she had now to hear her son cry this boy’s name in his slept every night. She had to see her son feel his absence like a stab on his chest. Shion had told her Nezumi promised to come back, and she believed he would; Shion would not feel so strong for someone who didn’t deserve his trust, but as the years passed, she couldn’t help but wanting to know more about this guy she was trusting not to run off forever with her son’s heart, but Shion stopped talking about him. 

First, she asked Rikiga about him. His answer did not comfort her at all. 

“That rat is as bad of a person as they come. Manipulative, cruel, takes advantage of people’s feelings, maybe because he himself doesn’t have. His only redeeming qualities are his looks and his talent. The tears of someone as pure as Shion are wasted on him.” 

That was... quite the antagonist view of the one Karan had of the boy. She had to remind herself that the West Block was a cruel place with no place for kindness. Everyone did what they had to survive. The only reason Shion must have gotten away with being too innocent and empathetic was because he had all these people looking out for him. Inukashi and Rikiga, but specially Nezumi. 

“So, do you believe he was being honest when he told Shion he would come back?” She asked, still sure she wanted to hear an answer. This was her little boy, she had to be prepared for the heartbreak if one day Shion realized Nezumi wasn’t coming back. 

Rikiga seem to be ready to answer, but he then took a long breath, followed by a sip of the coffee on his hand, he looked like he was considering for the first time. 

“More than anything, I’m afraid he didn’t promise that. He’s good with his words, he may have said another thing, knowing Shion would misunderstand, thinking that would be enough for Shion to let him go. He has no consideration for anyone’s feelings.” 

Karan had never once thought about that, but now she couldn’t shake off the fear of that being the reality. Was her son really waiting for someone who never said he would come back? Was he waiting for a lie? But Rikiga wasn’t done talking. 

“And yet... there was something about the way he was around Shion. He acted almost like a person. He even let himself be ordered around, I once saw him helping dry Inukashi’s dogs without expecting anything in return, just because Shion asked him to.” A heavy sight scaped the man’s mouth. “If he has ever cared about anyone other than himself, then he cared about Shion. I hope he still cares enough to come back, because it would be a tragedy if Shion’s radiant smile disappeared forever with the unworthy rat.” 

If that addition made her feel better or not, she wasn’t sure. 

A month later, Inukashi dropped in the bakery, wanting a small cake for little Shionn’s birthday. After Shion had said the baby should had a birthday, Inukashi decided on the day the baby got entrusted into their care. 

She offered some food and hot chocolate, which Inukashi happily accepted. They had a very sweet tooth, and with how mature they were, Karan sometimes forgot Inukashi was only seventeen. A kid, really. 

After giving them the hot chocolate and some cookies, she had baked earlier that they, she confronted them with the same question she had confronted Rikiga. 

“Nezumi?” Inukashi asked, as if the name sounded almost foreign. It probably did, Karan doubted they had heard the name in a long time. “He is a nightmare. Selfish, without empathy and... scary. Most of the time I wished I had never crossed paths with him. He always knew what to say to make you feel like shit, and he would take advantage of any weakness you showed.” 

This time, Karan was slightly more prepared for the answer, but she still couldn’t help but feel at lost. How could Nezumi be so cruel and so kind? So selfish and so thoughtful? Who was this walking contradiction? 

“Do you think he will come back?” asked Karan once again. 

“If he promised Shion he would come back, he will. That boy is his weakness, if he ever had one. If I didn’t like Shion as much as I do, I would have tried to take revenge on Nezumi with him, but he is too likable. I will never understand how those two are so happy together, they are opposites in the worst ways.” 

Karan couldn’t help but smile at Inukashi’s ramble. That sounded a lot more promising. 

“Why do you say Shion is his weakness, if I may ask?” 

After another bite to their cookie, Inukashi answered. 

“He did stupid, dangerous things for him. He cared too much. Shion wasn’t material for the West Block, he was a burden to Nezumi. Even so, he never once tried to abandon him.” They stayed silence for a minute, as if trying to find their next words. “And he was different around Shion, he showed emotion I had never seen in the four years I knew him before Shion started living with him. He was afraid of Shion, and I didn’t understand why back then, but now I’m sure he was just afraid of what Shion made him feel. For a lonely rat like Nezumi, it must have been terrifying to suddenly care.” 

Yes, that was something Karan could conceal with the Nezumi she had met. The Nezumi that acted annoyed at Shion’s antics and teased him mercilessly, but the fondness never leaving his eyes. The Nezumi that recited poetry and monologues and looked proud when Shion identified where did they come from. 

A week later, she decided she would ask one last opinion. Shion had some rare free time, so she decided she would finally ask him.   
The pain in Shion’s eyes at hearing the name was evident, but the sweet smile that adorned his face was honest. 

“Nezumi is kind, playful, smart and beautiful.” He said without hesitation. “He was also a pessimist; I think because he had too much hate inside. But when he relaxed, he was breathtaking. He had such a painful life...” His eyes filled with tears, but Karan knew better than to ask, that story was not for her ears. “He told me not to name the mice, and yet he started using the names as soon as he learnt them. I don’t know if he realized, but he always tried to make me happy or just make me feel better if he had the chance.” 

Somehow, Karan felt as if that was the missing piece in this puzzle. 

_He even let himself be ordered around..._   
_That boy is his weakness, if he ever had one...._

Nezumi stopped being a contradiction and went back to being just a boy in her mind. Still, she asked the question. 

“Are you sure he will come back?” 

The question seemed to take Shion by surprise, as if he couldn’t understand someone would doubt it. 

“Of course he will, he promised me, and before that he promised me there would be no more farewell kisses. Nezumi wouldn’t break two promises just like that.” He seemed none the wiser about the bomb he had just dropped on his mother. 

Farewell _kisses_? 

Although in hindsight, Karan knew she shouldn’t have been surprised. She had been wrong before; _this_ was the missing piece of the puzzle. 

“How are you so sure?” _Does he truly correspond you?_ Was the question she didn’t ask. 

“Because that would hurt me, and he once told me he couldn’t even imagine wanting to hurt me, so he wouldn’t lie to me like that.” He sounded so sure, that all remainder of doubt vanished from her mind. 

_Nezumi_ _, I think I finally have an idea of who you are, and I know you must miss Shion as much as he misses you. So please, please come back home._

_Come back to him._

* * *

Nezumi liked bars. He never drank, of course, because that could leave him vulnerable. He needed all his senses to be as sharp as always. In fact, the only time he had ever drunk alcohol in the presence of another person was all those years ago with... 

So, the reason Nezumi liked bars was because it was easy to get some amiable company that would forget about him the next day. That way no one would miss him when took his bag and jumped town. No one would get attached to him. 

This afternoon was no exception. He had managed to get invited to a table with a group of friends. They were drunk and loud, but it helped ignore the ache in his chest. If he tried hard enough, he sometimes managed to convince himself he was having a good time. 

The alternative was to stay all the night at whatever place he had gotten for the time being, thinking about... 

Everything was going perfectly, until one of the girls started to flirt shamelessly with him, and it was not the kind of flirting that just came with the low inhibitions of the alcohol, it was the type that expected to get somewhere. Of course, being the master actor that he was, no one noted his shoulders tense at the thought of being with someone, even if just for one night. He couldn’t do that, he always ended up feeling like he was cheating. 

Even if no one realized he was feeling uncomfortable, they did realize he was deflecting this girl advances. 

“Come one, Hanna, take a hint and let the boy breath. You’re going to scare him away.” One of her friends said, and Nezumi couldn’t help but feel grateful when the girl, Hanna, listened and backed down. 

_Hanna... what_ ’ _s with people and naming their children after flowers?_

After that the night was pretty much ruined for Nezumi. He pretended to have fun, of course, but he disliked it even more than usual. His treacherous mind kept slipping to a basement with his books and soup and... 

_Stop._

After a few hours, he decided to just go back to the cheap hotel he was staying at, having decided he was not in the mood to keep on pretending. 

_I never had to pretend around him._

Even though his plan was to go to the hotel, his feet just lead him to the park near his hotel. 

As this town was in the rise of the mountain, he had a great view. His eyes, as ever, looked south without his permission. Of course, he couldn’t see what he wanted; he was too far away, it was a futile effort. 

Hamlet and Cravat always used make sad noises when they looked in the direction of No.6, they probably had missed Tsukiyo. Of course, both mice had passed away over a year ago, but Nezumi sometimes still thought of them. 

_That_ _’s why you shouldn’t name them._   
_You get attached._   
_But you just had to name them, S-_

“Hey, Nezumi, what a coincidence!" 

He had heard someone coming close, so he wasn’t surprised, but he didn’t expect the stranger to know his name.   
He turned back and saw the girl from the bar earlier, what was her name...? 

Right, Hanna. 

“Should I be worried about you following me?” He asked, putting a mask back on. The girl laughed as if that was the most hilarious comment ever. 

“No, don’t worry. I swear it was just a coincidence, I live down the street in the dark red house.” She explained, pointing the house she was talking about. 

_Such an idiot, telling her address to a perfect stranger without fear of all I could do with that information. I hate when people are so careless and trusting, it’s so annoying._

Except he used to just laugh about those people’s stupidity, it just started to annoy him when he couldn’t help but think of... 

“I’m sorry for earlier,” she interrupted his thoughts “I tend to be a flirty drunk, I hope I didn’t make you uncomfortable.” 

“Not at all.” He wished she would just accept his answer and go away, but clearly it wasn’t his lucky day. She took a step closer and look south. 

“What’s that way? For the way you were looking, it must be important. Your home, perhaps?” 

“I don’t have a home.” 

“Childhood home, then? Family? You can tell me; we will never see each other again.” She sounded so sure, it annoyed Nezumi greatly. 

“Why do you say that?” 

“Because you look like the type of people that can’t stay in one place. Are you running away, perhaps?” 

“You’re a chatty drunk.” It was a weak comeback, he knew, but he couldn’t help but feel she had hit a little too close to home. 

_I_ _’m not running away from anything._   
  
_Then why won’t you say his name?_

“Hit the nail, I see.” She continued as if she hadn’t heard him. Maybe she hadn’t. “So, running away from something, but you don’t look like the type to run away from a fight, or even from the past. That leaves us with... a person.” 

He didn’t respond to that. 

“What’s her name?” 

He didn’t owe her an answer. 

_Say it._

She was just a stranger. 

_Why can_ _’t I_ _say his name?_

He could just walk away right now. 

_And what, keep_ _running_ _away forever?_

“His name is Shion.” 

The pain hit him like a bullet, and he knew from own experience what bullets felt like.   
That’s why he had stop saying that name, _thinking_ that name. It was dangerous, it made him want to go back. 

“I see, I guess my name did not help my case.” She said it with such a lightness, it was clear she didn’t care at all. It looked like she was indeed just a flirty drunk. “You should go back to him.” 

“How would you know? You don’t know anything about us.” The question came out weaker than intended. He sounded almost interested in the answer. 

“If he is important enough to run away from, then he is important enough to come back to.” Then, like a second thought she added, “Is he waiting for you?” 

“Yes.” He did not hesitate. Because for any other person there would be doubt. Three years apart, without a word. He just waited until he could walk enough to run away, and he did. Left with a kiss and a promise he didn’t intend to make in the first place. 

He wasn’t supposed to promise anything, but Shion started crying, he was hurting, and Nezumi didn’t want to cause Shion any pain. He didn’t want to keep being the reason for his tears, so he made the stupid promise. And Shion promised to wait. 

And that was all Nezumi needed to know that Shion would wait for forever. 

“Then just go back to him, and everything else will fall into place.” 

They stayed in silence for a while. The she turned around and kept going in her way back home. As if she hadn’t just destroyed the wall Nezumi used to hide his feelings for Shion. As if she hadn’t just told him to go back to what he had tried so desperately to run from. 

It was mid-July; he was a little over a month away from No.6. Without realizing, he had gone nearer and nearer since he met Shion’s father. He briefly wondered if the man had arrived to the city, but then decided that probably not. Those were six months of travel; he didn’t look like someone with the commitment to travel that much to one place. 

He could be in time for Shion’s birthday. 

Eight years since he first met him in that stormy night. Four years since they had met again. Now, they would be reunited one last time. Nezumi had to appreciate the symmetry in their history, it was quite dramatic. 

* * *

Two months later, Inukashi and Rikiga found out Nezumi came back because Shion dragged him to West Block to help wash the dogs.   
Both felt compelled to ask him what the hell had taken him so damn long to come back, and if he knew how bad Shion had been since he decided to just leave- 

But one look at how he constantly reassured Shion with physical contact, like he was trying to convince him he was really here, and one look at how he went out of his way to remain in Shion’s visual field, how didn’t even try to argue about drying the dogs, and it was obvious Nezumi knew. 

One look at how ecstatic Shion was, just ranting about topics no one understood, and smiling like he was trying to compensate for the last three and a half years that he didn’t, and it was clear Nezumi was forgiven, and Shion wouldn’t appreciate if they tried to defend his honor. 

“Are you staying around this time?” Was all Inukashi asked when Shion was distracted enough. 

Nezumi looked at where Shion was, washing an old dog as careful as ever, when answering. 

“Yeah, probably, and if I want to travel again, I will just take him with me. Turns out, I got used to taking care of the airhead, traveling alone was too easy.” Inukashi knew Nezumi said it like that to get on their nerves, but this time it didn’t work. 

Nezumi wouldn’t leave Shion behind again, no matter if they stayed or went away. That was enough for Inukashi. 

Karan found out Nezumi came back the morning after Shion’s twentieth birthday. Her son came running down the stairs, the biggest smile ever on his face, and before he even opened his mouth, she just knew that couldn’t be for any other reason but Nezumi. 

She was right, as few seconds later a second pair of footsteps followed down. 

“Welcome back, Nezumi.” She didn’t give him a chance to escape before trapping him in a big hug, not that the boy resisted. 

He looked thin, although not as much as the first time they met, and he looked tired, but his eyes shined every time he looked at Shion, which was all the time. 

When Shion looked away, he did it with the fear of turning back again just to realize Nezumi was gone again. She was not the only one who noticed, because in question of minutes, Nezumi was already making sure some part of him was always in contact with Shion. 

Karan knew her son, and so she knew it would take a while for him to fully interiorize that Nezumi wouldn’t disappear the moment he looked away, but they would get there. Maybe now that he had a Nezumi sleeping next to him, most of the nightmares would stop. 

Eventually, Shion had to go to the bathroom and left Nezumi’s side for a pair of minutes. 

“You won’t leave him again, right? I understand you had to leave, and Shion does too, but please promise me you won’t put him through that again.” She was pretty sure of the answer, but she needed a promise. 

Because Nezumi didn’t break his promises, especially when they were about Shion. 

Nezumi responded with an uncharacteristically earnest, at least for what she was used to from him, look on his face. 

“I promise I won’t leave him again. He’s stuck with me from now on.” 

The smile on her face rivaled Shion’s one when he came back to the sight of Nezumi still there, in the kitchen. 

Everything would be okay. 

Shion found out Nezumi came back on the night of his birthday. He was on his bed, reading Macbeth. It made him feel closer to Nezumi, as did his open window. He did not expect Nezumi to really come back that night, it just felt right. 

Nowadays he was used to his mind playing tricks on him, so when he felt movement in the room, he refused to take his eyes from the book. He refused to let himself hope. 

“Is Your Majesty waiting for me, or do I need to fight for the honor of using the window as my entrance with someone else?” The voice, the words, it sounded very real. 

Afraid, Shion closed the book and looked up, and there he was. 

Without thinking, Shion ran into Nezumi’s open arms. Hel felt real, he _smelt_ real. If this was some cruel dream he would have to wake up from soon, maybe it would be the one to finally break him. 

“Did your verbal capacity decay so much in my absence you won’t even great me back?” Nezumi teased, but he didn’t make a move to escape from the embrace. 

“Is it really you?” Shion’s voice was so small and fearful that Nezumi would have almost preferred to find an enraged Shion that would had hit him and scream at him. 

Almost, but he was still a selfish man, and he had dreamed about having Shion in his arms just like this every day since he left. 

Carefully, putting his index finger under Shion’s chin, he made him look up. Finally, he once again had those captivating violet eyes focused on him. 

“It’s me, Shion. I promised reunion would come, and here I am, asking you to take me back one more time.” He barely finished speaking when he had a pair of clumsy lips against his. 

The kiss was sweet, but also passionate. Shion wondered if Nezumi had dreamt of this kiss as much as him.   
When they break the kiss, Nezumi can’t help but ask with a satisficed smile on his face. 

“Which kind of kiss was that, your Majesty?” 

“A welcome home kiss.” 

Just then both realized the truth in that statement. Here, in each other’s arms, they were finally home. 

“It’s good to be home.” 

**Author's Note:**

> I just re-read the novels two weeks ago, so this is 100% based on the novels and I referenced events that happened only there, not in the anime or the manga. I think I specially referenced the Extras "Beyond" and "Days in the West Block".
> 
> I first read this novels a little over 6 years ago, so it’s kinda surprising I took this long to write a reunion fic, but better late than never, so here you have it!
> 
> You also have the rebloggable version on my tumblr @espejonight28738  
> You can also go and cry on my dm’s/inbox about the pain of not knowing if Nezumi ever came back!


End file.
